Hispanic church group reaches out to community

Louis Alfaro (from left), pastor of The Light of the World Church, and RASP members Atalia Cardenas, Efrain Gerardo and Saul Pina stand in front of the parsonage on Thomason Street.

Vikki B. Hodges

By VIKKI BROUGHTON HODGESCorrespondent

Published: Friday, May 10, 2013 at 11:56 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, May 10, 2013 at 11:56 a.m.

A group of teenage students and young professionals who are members of The Light of the World Church, also known as Iglesia La Luz Del Mundo, a largely Hispanic congregation in Lexington, are seeking to transform themselves and their community through service projects.

Louis Alfaro (from left), pastor of The Light of the World Church, and RASP members Atalia Cardenas, Efrain Gerardo and Saul Pina stand in front of the parsonage on Thomason Street.

Vikki B. Hodges

The recently formed Regional Alliance of Students and Professionals chapter has begun partnering with several nonprofits, such as Habitat for Humanity, and the City of Lexington to work on projects to help improve the Lexington community at large and raise awareness of the church and its contributions, said Atalia Cardenas, president of RASP. She is one of the founding members of The Light of the World Church, which started here 15 years ago and has been located in a church building on Thomason Street for the past decade.

The Light of the World Church is based in Guadalajara, Mexico, and has about six million members worldwide, said Louis Alfaro, pastor of the local church, which has about 250 members as well as 200 children between the ages of 5 and 13. RASP chapters of the church are growing in number since community service is one of the tenants of the Christian church, Alfaro said.

Cardenas said the new RASP chapter has 40 members, including several from a mission in Garner, with the youngest members being high school freshmen. Most of the members are from 16 to 18, and there is no age limit on the professional members, said Cardenas, who is a 1997 honor graduate of Lexington Senior High School. Cardenas, a graduate of High Point University with a degree in international business and Forsyth Technical Institute with an associate degree in paralegal studies, is a senior paralegal with Hanesbrands in Winston-Salem.

Saul Piña, a junior at LSHS who takes a number of Advanced Placement courses and serves as secretary of RASP, said the group encourages members to strive for academic success, and the older professionals serve as role models for younger students in high school and college.

"It encourages us to stay in school and to better ourselves and our church," Piña said, noting that such volunteer service also looks good when applying for college and scholarships.

Efrain Gerardo, who handles public relations for the church and is Cardenas' husband, added, "By being good Christians, we are also being good citizens. We want to be part of our community."

One of the first community projects RASP became involved with was painting the interior of a newly built Habitat home in April. A member of RASP who works at the Habitat ReStore talked to store manager Frank Walters about what the group members could do to help so they pitched in to paint. RASP members plan to volunteer at the store as well as translate Habitat brochures and applications into Spanish for the benefit of the Hispanic community.

Cardenas said RASP and some of the younger members of the church congregation also volunteered in April to help out the Girl Scouts with Smart Start of Davidson County's Itty Bitty Kiddie Festival. "These girls took on the responsibility to translate," Cardenas said. "After it was over they were fired up and ready to do it again."

Other future projects include a food drive for Pastor's Pantry and several beautification projects, such as the adoption of Talbert Boulevard for street cleanup and participation in Litter Sweep. Cardenas said RASP also wants to work with the city, such as helping out with the mural project in the Depot District downtown.

"The city wants to connect with the Hispanic community, so we're trying to be that connection," Cardenas added. "We've just gotten started, but we're here for the long run."

Vikki Broughton Hodges can be contacted at vikkihodges@mac.com.

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